Under the Mistletoe
by Penny Charlotte Brown
Summary: The year 1765 is coming to an end and everybody is looking forward for Christmas...That is, almost everybody...André has a problem; this year Oscar will be ten years old and he wants to give her something special...He wants to make her tenth birthday unforgettable...But how? What will he give her? He had no idea, that his gift would reach her 20 years later...


Under the mistletoe

1765

It was the beginning of December and Christmas was on its way…Everyone was busy doing their job as usual, or perhaps even busier than usual: they had to finish their tasks soon and start to make preparations for the Christmas….It was one of the most anticipated times of the year and everything had to be perfect. Everyone was thinking about Christmas and most of the times forgot about Oscar´s birthday, which was on the 25th of December…except for André. He always remembered her birthday and this year was no exception…But there was something different in the air…He had something on his mind...He couldn´t concentrate…

André was in the stable taking care of Oscar´s horse. He was deep in his thoughts, so that he didn´t notice a stableman coming in…The stableman was André´s mentor…

Man:"Hey, André. What´s on your mind?"

André was startled…He had been thinking about Oscar´s birthday. He wanted to give her something special this year; after all…It was her tenth birthday…A very special day; it happened only once in a lifetime. He wanted to make it unforgettable…But how? He had already given her everything he could think of…He had asked his grandma for advice, but it hadn´t helped…

Man:"You seem to be thinking about something important. Would you like to share it with me? Maybe I can help."

André told about his plans…He didn´t mention Oscar by her name, so that the stableman couldn´t recognize her…

Man:"So…You have no idea, what to give to this "friend" of yours…"

André:"That´s right, mister. Last year I gave her tin soldiers..."

André´s mentor was surprised by André´s answer…Who would give tin soldiers to a girl he fancied?

Man:"Tin soldiers for a girl?!"

André:"She´s not a…" girl…he wanted to say…That is, in a way she was, but…she was not an ordinary girl…He didn´t have a chance to finish his sentence, when his mentor interrupted him…

Man:"I see!" he grinned…"Do I sense a little romance in the air?" he thought…He was convinced, that André had a crush and he wanted to help him…"I know what you can give her!"

André was relieved…finally someone was able to help him…"What is it, mister?" he asked.

Man:"Mistletoe."

André:"Mistletoe? What is that?"

He never heard such a word before…It was no wonder, because it was a pagan believe…But some few people believed that if you kiss someone under the mistletoe, it brings you good luck…The tradition was well kept secret, but now the man told André about it…

André had blushed…For some reason, he didn´t quite know why…He had seen a man and a woman kissing, but he didn´t know why…Why would anyone want to do that?

André:"Why…Why should I kiss her? I don´t think she´d like that…"

Man:"Of course she does! Every girl likes to be kissed!"

André:"But she´s not every girl! She´s special!"

Man laughed…Now he knew André had a crush on her, there was no doubt about that…He didn´t know that André was talking about Oscar, André´s best friend…

Man:"Well, André…You do wish her happiness, don´t you?"

André:"Of course I do!"

Man:"By kissing her under that mistletoe… you will give her good luck that lasts a lifetime! She´ll be happy!"

André was a little skeptical about that…But, at least he could try. What´s the harm in trying to give her happiness and good luck? Besides, he didn´t know, what else to give her…

André smiled:"Alright! I´ll give it a try! I want to make her happy!"

Man:"I guarantee, that she´ll never forget your gift!"

André:"Thank you, mister!" he shouted and ran away to the manor to Oscar…

All the suddenly he stopped " But wait a minute! Where should I get the Mistletoe?" he wondered.

Grandmother: "Mistletoe?" she had heard him. "What on Earth do you need that for?"

André:"Well…"

Grandmother:"You´re not thinking what I think you`re thinking?!André!"

André:"I was thinking of surprising…a girl…"

Grandmother:"No, André! Absolutely not! It´s not decent!"

André:"But grandmother!"

Grandmother:"You can kiss a girl, when you´re engaged to her! Not before!"

André:" Engaged?"

Grandmother:"Yes, engaged!" she was tough.

André:"Fine." he sighed "I´ll just have to figure out something else…"

Ten whole years passed before he was able to buy mistletoe…

1775

24th of December…

Christmas had finally come…The Jarjayes family spent their Christmas as usual; first they went to a midnight mass and there to visit some other nobles…Their servants had few days off, except for André and his grandma, because they always joined the family in their celebrations…That way Oscar and André could be together even in holidays…

Not only that, but Christmas was special in many other ways as well…The most important thing for Oscar and André was, that they had some time off from the palace. Every Christmas they could stay awake very late and enjoy as much as they could of wine and hot chocolate…

It was getting late already, when the family left the ball they had attended to… This year Oscar had taken already a lot of wine, and was a bit drunk. She just wanted to forget Fersen…

It was cold outside, when they got into their carriage. André sat next to Oscar and saw, how she was shivering…

André:"Oscar…" he was concerned.

Oscar:"It´s a bit cold in here."

André took off his cloak and placed it on Oscar´s shoulders and wrapped it around her.

Oscar smiled:"Thank you, André."

André gave her a gentle smile…

The ride back home went smoothly and as soon as they were at home, both Oscar and André were ready to retire to their own rooms. They said good night to everyone and ascended upstairs. "André. Won´t you accompany me. I´ve still got a wine bottle…" she invited him, but he refused. But before he retired to his own room, he wanted to say something to Oscar…

André:"Oscar…Remember our oak tree?"

Oscar:"Of course! It was one of our favorite places, where we used to play…"

André:"Meet me there in an hour. I want to give you something."

Oscar smiled…She knew that he hadn´t forgotten her birthday…He never did "Alright, André." she said.

After being left alone, she drank a couple of more glasses of wine. Why shouldn´t she? This day was her birthday, after all!

André was waiting Oscar by their oak tree. He had perched the mistletoe in one of the branches…He was a bit nervous and he was afraid of her reaction…What if she didn´t like it? What if she started hating him? ...It was all very strange…He felt strange in his stomach. It was only natural, because he was in love with her. He had known that for a few years already, but he was afraid of say anything…

He didn´t have to wait long, when he saw Oscar coming towards him…

Oscar:"André!" she shouted happily.

André:"Oscar!"

Oscar came near him…"So, André…What was it you that you wanted to give me?" the wine had gotten into her head and she was more cheerful than usually.

André took Oscar´s hand and placed her right under the mistletoe…"Oscar…"

Oscar:"Yes?"

André:"…" suddenly he was speechless…

Oscar:"Well, André?"

He was nervous, but he knew he had to give her the present soon. It was cold outside and it was still getting colder. He didn´t want her to get sick…

André:"Oscar, close your eyes."

Oscar:"Why?"

André:"Just close your eyes, please."

She closed her eyes, after which André got near her, took her hand into his and placed his other hand gently on her waist. Then he closed his eyes and kissed her…He felt strange…weird, but in a nice way. He felt her soft lips against his and he liked it…His heart was acting strangely…

They were both shaking, when their lips parted…

Oscar:"What was that?"

André:"It was my present…Did you like it?"

Oscar:"A present?" she was a bit confused…"I never had that sort of a present before…" she had a strange feeling inside her…Was it the kiss or the alcohol that was affecting her? She couldn't tell exactly, what it was…And she didn´t know, how to react to his present…

André smiled:"Do you see that mistletoe there…" he pointed it…"It is said that, when a woman and a man kiss under the mistletoe, it brings them both happiness and good luck. That´s what I wanted to give you."

Oscar:"so, you see me as a woman?" she was surprised.

André:"I´ve always seen you as a woman"

Oscar looked into André´s eyes…his bluish green eyes shined so bright…They were so sincere…She believed him, and why wouldn´t she? He was her best friend.

She smiled…She never had better birthday present…She wanted to share the happiness and good luck with him…

Oscar:"Close your eyes!" she told André.

André:"…"

Oscar:"I still haven´t given you your Christmas present…And I want to give you something very special too!"

André blushed…he took her near again and…they closed their eyes and kissed each other…How wonderful it felled like…Although it was cold outside, they both suddenly felt very warm…

Oscar:"Well, André…Did you like my present?" she smiled.

André smiled back:"Yes, I did!"

Oscar:"I did, too!"

André took her hand again…"Now we both have the happiness and good luck for the rest of our lives!"

Oscar:"Yeah."

André:"Come on, Oscar. Let´s get back inside before you catch a cold."

As they started to walk towards the mansion, it started to snow…

André:"Look, Oscar! Snow!" he was happy.

Oscar looked at the snow falling from the sky, and suddenly she felt happiness…she looked at her special friend…"André, this is the best Christmas ever!" she laughed.

The two friends walked towards the mansion hand in hand, while snow kept falling from the sky…There was something special in the air…

Except the magic didn´t last to the next day; Oscar had been so drunk that she had no idea of what had happened…She only vaguely remembered a dream she had, a very strange dream, that couldn´t possibly be true. And they never spoke about the incident…

It took ten years for her to remember…

1785

It was Christmas, again. They still had the same rituals as before; The Jarjayes family spent their Christmas as usual; first they went to a midnight mass and there to visit some other nobles…Their servants had few days off, except for André and his grandma, because they always joined the family in their celebrations…That way Oscar and André could be together even in holidays…Also, this Christmas they had Rosalie living with them. Her sister Jeanne`s trial was still in the middle of progress, and Rosalie was naturally worried. After the compulsory visits to the friends' manor houses, Oscar, André and Rosalie went back home. As André went to help his grandmother in the kitchen, Oscar and Rosalie were left alone. Oscar headed straight into the library.

Rosalie:"Lady Oscar, what is it?" she followed her.

Oscar:" I just remembered that I have some documents concerning the Jeanne´s case. I was thinking of going through those tomorrow…"

She searched everywhere, but she couldn´t find them. Then she remembered that André might have borrowed those, because he seemed to be interested in the case. Especially after Jeanne had mentioned Oscar´s name amongst the queen´s lovers. Oscar thought it strange that this kind of accusation would interest André.

Oscar:"It´s already past bed time, Rosalie. Why don´t you go to your room. I´ll just go and look into André´s room if I could find those papers…"

Rosalie:"Are you sure you don´t need any help, Lady Oscar?"

Oscar:"I´m positive. Good night, Rosalie" she said and left.

Oscar searched André´s room, but found no papers. Now, where were those? There were still few places she hadn´t checked. She noticed a small box hidden behind the books, so she took it into her hands.

At the same time André walked into the room.

André:"Oscar!" he screamed "What are you doing?"

Oscar:"I was only searching some documents relating to Jeanne, but I found this…interesting box you´ve hidden. I didn't know you had secrets!" she smiled.

André:"Just leave it be! The documents aren´t there!" he said and tried to take the box from her, but she fought back.

Oscar:"I want to know, what it is that you´re hiding!" she was curious "After all, friends don´t have secrets!"

Right that moment the box flew open, and all its contents spread across the floor. There were couple of tin soldiers, a book that looked like a diary, bandage and a old leave…

André quickly started to gather his belongings back into the box. He was nervous. He didn´t want Oscar to find out that he had taken her old bandage she used to tight her chest…

Oscar:"what´s this?" she asked him as she was holding the dry and old leave.

André:"It´s nothing!"

Oscar:"It´s certainly something if you keep it save!"

Then Oscar remembered her strange dream from many years ago…the kiss under the mistletoe…

Oscar:"It´s mistletoe!"

André didn´t have a chance to reply, when Oscar continued "It´s the same mistletoe that was tied to our oak…where we kissed…"

André:"I have no idea of what you´re talking about!" he tired to argue. But Oscar wasn´t listening, instead she was deep in her thoughts. The kiss under the mistletoe, and…another kiss…couple of years ago, after the bar fight... In both cases she had been drunk, and she only thought those were dreams…But now…

Oscar:"I remember you said that when a woman and a man kiss under the mistletoe, it brings them both happiness and good luck."

André:"Oscar…"

Oscar:"It didn´t exactly come true, did it?" she smiled.

André:"Don´t say that, Oscar. You´re still young…you´re…"

Oscar:"… a woman?"

André:"Yes, Oscar "he admitted "I´ve always seen you as a woman…and I want you to be happy…That´s what I wanted to give you."

Oscar looked into André´s eyes…his turquoises eyes shined so bright and… so beautiful. She smiled…How come she never noticed how handsome he was? And why hadn´t she noticed him before?

Oscar:"Close your eyes!" she told André. A sudden idea came into her mind, and this time, she wasn´t even drunk.

André:"…"

Oscar:"I still haven´t given you your Christmas present…"

André closed his eyes and felt her warm lips on his…it was Heaven. He responded it. They kissed each other deep and passionately under the mistletoe she was holding…How wonderful it felt like…

Oscar:"Well, André…Did you like my present?" she smiled.

André nodded. He was speechless.

Oscar:"Now we both have the happiness and good luck for the rest of our lives!"

André:"I still haven´t given your birthday present"

Oscar:"No, André, you just did…the best gift ever!"

The End.


End file.
